Page 29 of Crewe
“Whatcha need, Freya?” he asked softly.
She leaned over close to his ear. “I need to go see Père Noël again,” she whispered.
He nodded. “Can you quietly get your brother so I can talk to you both?” he asked.
Freya stared at him, then nodded. She held Wyatt’s hand, walking back like she was walking to a funeral. He guessed that in trying to speak softly, he might have worried her. He took their hands, and they went into the bathroom. He closed the door.
“Nothing’s wrong, but I don’t want anyone to hear,” he said softly, getting down on the floor so he’d be eye level.
“I want to ask you a question, but I need to know you can keep a secret,” Crewe said.
Wyatt ran his hand across his mouth like a zipper, then mimicked tossing away the key. He stared at Freya, and when she didn’t immediately mimic him, Wyatt did it for her. Crewe chuckled quietly.
“Okay, now no yelling. I want to marry your mom, but I want to make sure that’s what you want too,” he said.
Wyatt looked pensive and stared at him, then asked, “Do you want us too?”
Crewe wrapped his arms around the kids, “Of course I do. I love your mom, but I love you two equally. I’ll have a question to ask you after I ask your mom to marry me. Do you think you’d like to have me marry your mom? We’d all live together, and I could be your dad?”
“Yes,” Freya and Wyatt both whispered.
Crewe dropped a kiss on each of their heads. “So, the plan is that we’ll tell your mom we’re taking a carriage ride so she can take pictures of the falls but also a family picture so we’re all alittle dressed up. Then I’ll ask her the question, and then I’ll be asking you both one too. Do you think that sounds good?”
At their nods, he asked the question that he wasn’t sure of the answer.
“Do you think you can both keep quiet and not tell anyone about it? Not even any other kids?” he asked.
Both kids nodded. Crewe would have to take their word for it and hope for the best because what else could he do?
Ry was spending the morning with Vivi, Ellie, and all their kids. They had made one last trip to the toy shop and then dropped by the candle store and a couple other places to buy Christmas gifts.
She’d bought the kids a toy each because they were usually well-behaved, but today, they were perfect—almost not human perfect. Maybethey were still tired from yesterday and last night. She wasn’t sure what it was, but she was thankful for it.
“I’m going to miss this when we go home and have to go back to real life, but I have to admit, I’m also ready for a little alone time with my favorite drink, curled up with a book while Whiskey is working,” Vivi said, pulling them into another shop.
Mistletoe Art Glass and Blacksmith Shop had been closed when they’d been by before. Ry bent down to the perfect children to make sure they stayed perfect in here.
“No touching or picking up the glass ornaments. If you want to look at something more, I’ll help you,” Ry cautioned.
A man walked out from behind the counter. If Ry weren’t over the top in love with Crewe, she would be panting after him. Tattoos, a beard, a white T-shirt, and a black apron over it.
“Ah, don’t worry about touching stuff. Most of the stuff at eye level for kids is sturdy. Have youall enjoyed your time in Mistletoe Canyon?” he asked.
“Yes, it’s the best,” Freya said. The man grinned, then looked around the shop almost as if he were counting how many were in their group. He walked over as someone started to walk in and told them it was closed for a private party. Ry thought that was strange.
“If you have time, I would love for you to help me out with a concept I’m considering. I was going to add a family glass ornament-blowing time. You’ve got under ten in your group and a wide range of ages. It would take about an hour if it goes like I think. Cost would be free because you’re helping me with the concept, but I’d want your feedback too,” he offered.
“I’m in,” Ellie said.
Ry and Vivi both agreed too. In no time at all, the man had them set up in a party room where he rolled up a door similar to a single garage door to reveal his workshop. He selected some metal railings against a wall and quickly assembled an area the kids could line up to help blow the glassto create an ornament. The metal railings inserted into holes he had in the cement and clasped together. One of them had a gate so he could let each child through at a time, but the ones behind the metal fencing could see but not touch anything dangerous.
“Let me give you an overview of what I have in mind. The kids would get numbers for when it was their turn, so if they didn’t want to stand in line, then they could do some of the other activities I have,” he led them over to the wall. He pulled out three bins.
“These are made to look like stained glass, but the clear ones are plastic they can paint on. This one is an activity book. I have them grouped by age. The older ones have word finds and crosswords. Younger ones have more coloring but also find-the-difference pictures. This one the kids will need a little help with. It’s a wooden house they can build to take home. So let’s get started, and we can see how it goes. I want it to be something that sparks kids’ imaginations,” he said.
Ry stared at the activity. She was so glad she’d brought her camera. “Do you care if I take pictures while you’re making things?” she asked.
“Not at all, and I’d love any that you would be willing to share with me for advertising,” he said.
